The Legend of Zelda: The Black City
by Writer of Hyrule
Summary: Link and the Skull Kid find themselves locked up after Majora's mask has been destroyed. They must solve the mystery of the dreaded black city that is hidden within the land of Termina... A story of adventure and action!
1. Chapter 1: False trail

The Legend of

ZELDA

The Black City

Chapter 1: False Trail

_I'm so blind... I should've known that the moon would never fall… Damn! If only I would've waited…It was all a set up! They set me up... it was them… The fairies…and the damn giants… The mask was merely the last part of it all, the part set up to take my life away…But it didn't work!!!! It nearly destroyed me… but now I'm here… in this…this city… if I should call it that. The place is brutal… they work me for hours…those fairies! Ha!_ _If they can be called that anymore! They are not fairies… for one day I snuck out of my cell and saw them transform into beasts. I was so dumbfounded that I had forgotten that I was sneaking. They caught me, and with a force like no other I've ever felt…Threw me in here…That green clothed kid… He's in the cell next to me. I am able to talk to him every now and again, during work hours. They stripped him of all his weapons, and all the masks…and now we are here…in this… Black City… Waiting for the sun to rise…To rid us of the horrible darkness of night… when the beasts guard our cells and go off about how we don't work hard enough. Someday, I'll escape this place…but the problem is…When?_

_***_

Link awoke just as the sun came up. He stretched, yawned, and began thinking about how today may be the day that he escapes, although there was little hope. The beasts could smell flesh from over a mile away. Link had learned that from watching a prisoner try to escape. The beasts killed the prisoner when they caught him, and they ate him, bones and all. It was a very gruesome sight.

"If only I still had my Goron mask!" Link said to himself, "Then I could kill those beasts and get out of here!" The beasts had all of Link's items, save for the gilded sword, locked up in a safe that had only one key, and that key was in a tub of acid that only the beasts' skin was invulnerable to. Link peered out of the small barred window in his cell, and he expected to see a guard, but nobody was there. He looked to the left, and there were the two guards, having a conversation with a Deku scrub.

"But if you buy it, I will throw in another special item," the Deku scrub said. Link was distracted from the conversation as he saw skull kid, who was normally in the cell next to him, outside, crouched down right behind the guard on the right, who was carrying Link's gilded sword.

_No! _Link mouthed. _Don't get yourself killed!_ The Skull Kid Simply acted as though he could not see Link. He slowly brought his hand up to the handle of the sword. He ever so quickly and quietly pulled it out of the sheath on the guard's belt.

"Hey, you smell somethin'?" He asked his fellow guard. They turned around and spotted Skull Kid with the sword.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here," he growled, "a runner."

"Let's get him!" they shouted. The Deku Scrub Flew away, obviously scared by all this.

"Link! Catch!" The Skull Kid hurled Link's gilded sword toward the cell. Link pushed against the door and realized that it wasn't locked. He picked up the gilded sword and ran toward the beast that had the Skull Kid by the throat. He rushed over and swung with all his might. Link thought he missed, but then in a gruesome scene, the monster's head fell to the floor, the hulking body still standing upright. The Skull Kid ripped the now dead hand off of his neck.

"Run! Find the way out!" Link yelled as Skull Kid sped away from him. Link turned around and looked the other monster straight in the eye.

"Unless you'd like the same fate as your partner, Tael, I suggest you do what I tell you to," Link said through gritted teeth. "I want my shield and all of my other items back. That includes the masks!"

"Fine, fine. Follow me." The beast said without a change of emotion. Link was led to a large room with a tub of acid and a very large safe. The beast reached into the acid and retrieved a gold key.

"Open the safe and take your things." The monster handed Link the key. Link pulled out his mirror shield, which he had gotten back in Termina from the well in Ikana, the Hero's bow, from Woodfall, the light arrows, from the Stone Tower Temple, and just as he reached for the hookshot, he looked up and noticed a table on the ceiling.

"What the?" he whispered. He grabbed the hookshot, and just as he reached for the Fierce Deity's mask, the beast pushed him away and destroyed the safe. The monster then grabbed every item and threw it all into the acid tub.

"You're next, Fairy boy!" he growled. Link ran for the door, the monster following close behind. He ran outside and to the edge of the cliff where his cell was, and he saw Skull Kid down below, waving his arms and gesturing Link to go to his location. Link searched the cliff with his eyes and spotted a ladder. He dodged the monster's claw and slid down the ladder. He met up with Skull Kid at a long wooden bridge. As they ran, Skull Kid explained things to Link.

"There is a ladder across this bridge, and I saw a portal. I don't know if it goes back to Termina, but I think it does because I'm almost positive that that's where they brought us here from. Now hurry! The ladder is just up ahead, and he's catching up!" The two got to the ladder, and they scrambled to the top. Just as the beast was reaching for Link's ankle, Link dove through the portal, Skull Kid right after. They fell to the floor of the lower clock tower.

"Did we just come out of the ceiling?" Link asked, rubbing his head, still running.

"Yes, that is where they took us through, remember?" Skull Kid replied.

"I must've been knocked out or something," Link guessed. The two ran all the way to the laundry pool in Clock Town. They reached Kafei's old hideout, which was now just an abandoned room. They entered and began talking about what had just happened.

"So you weren't able to get all your items back?"

"No. He threw them into the acid tub. I'm just glad I have the light arrows and hookshot back, though. Oh yeah, did you notice that like, where ever there was a floor, there was a ceiling right above it? Even outside?"

"Yes, I did, and I thought that was weird, because it's not like they could walk on the ceiling or something."

"Wait a minute, Skull Kid! I think I've got it! I went to a temple called Stone Tower, and I was able to turn it upside down to fully access it. It didn't just turn the temple, though, it turned the whole world upside down!"

"I think I know your idea, Link. We head to the tower, I turn it upside down, and you somehow find a way back to Clock Town in the upside down world. Then, you enter the portal into the upside down city! Is that what you had in mind?"

"Yep! Exactly! So let's go to Ikana canyon!"

"But I thought you said- "

"Well to get to stone tower, we need to go to Ikana canyon first. So let's go!" The two left the laundry pool and began to make their way to the Stone Tower.


	2. Chapter 2: The Road to the Stone Tower

Chapter 2: The Road to the Stone Tower Temple

Skull Kid and Link had just headed out of the north exit of Clock Town, eager to make it to the Stone Tower just past Ikana.

"So, Link," the skull kid asked, "how do you plan to get all the way back to Clock Town when the world is upside down? I mean, there won't be anything to stand on."

"Well," Link thought for a second, "I have my trusty hookshot, and there is a tree right outside the entrance to the stone tower. If I can latch on to that, then I might be able to climb up to it and hang on with my legs. That way, I'll be able to use the hookshot while on the tree. But I don't know what I'll latch onto after that, I guess I'll just have to figure it out when we get there." The two ran past all the living Bombchus and Skull Kid grabbed onto Link as they hookshot up to the tree on the ledge to enter Ikana canyon. Then, there came a problem.

"Aw, damn! I didn't grab the ice arrows! Now how am I supposed to get across these octorocks in the river?" Link was furious. How could they complete their mission now?

"I'll handle this," the Skull Kid stated bravely. He jumped into the water and got one octorock around the neck with his hands, the other with his feet, forming a platform for Link.

"Umm, I don't want to hurt you by jumping on your stomach," Link said nervously.

"Oh no, it won't hurt. Hurry, though because this one by my feet is really squirmy," Skull Kid answered. Link jumped onto skull kid and then to the platform on the other side of the water. The Skull Kid then kicked off of the octorock at his feet and pushed off of the one at his hands, sending him, back flipping, to the same platform as Link. Link's jaw dropped. He had no idea that the Skull Kid could do something like that.

"You comin'?" The Skull Kid asked as Link stood, awestruck.

"Oh yeah, sorry. Grab on to my shoulders, I'll hookshot us up there."

They finally reached the top, where the music house and Ikana Castle stood. The girl from the music house was out there.

"Oh, hi Link!" The little girl smiled. "What brings you two up here?"

Link kneeled down so he was about her size.

"We came to turn the world upside down, and if you don't stay in your house, you'll fall into the sky and burn up in the heat of the sun. All that will be left are ashes floating around in space," Link replied. The little girl ran into her house crying.

"Was it something I said?' Link asked as the Skull Kid shook his head, laughing. They walked up to the open mouth entrance to Stone Tower.

"See that tree?" Link pointed to a dead, leafless tree with a guay flying around it. "That's the tree that I was talking about. Then, maybe I can hookshot onto the wood of the music house and climb into the horn. Then I'll hookshot over to that tree by the well and make my way down, well I guess I should say up, to the lower, or higher, part of the canyon, the part with the octorocks. Then, hmm, that's tough because there will be no land or any trees for me to hookshot on to. Damn, I wish so badly that I could've grabbed my ocarina! But, I guess that I can figure it out when I get there. So let's climb this bad boy. They entered the mouth that led into the ever dangerous Stone Tower.


	3. Chapter 3: The upside down voyage

Chapter 3: The upside down voyage

Link and the Skull Kid had just entered the Stone Tower. They began climbing to the top, or more or less Link did, for Skull Kid could climb the walls easily.

"Hey! Skull Kid!" Link shouted from down below. "I have an idea. How about since I helped you, you help me?"

"Oh yeah, sorry Link. I get a little carried away sometimes. Grab onto my ankle and we can climb up," The Skull Kid replied. As they climbed, Link's brain hatched an idea.

"Skull Kid, I have an idea!"

"And what is your idea, Link?"

"Once we get to the top, I'll shoot the light arrow at the gem to turn the world. Then, since I realize now that you can climb these walls, we'll both climb back up, since the world will be turned, to the entrance. That way, both of us can get back to the upside down Clock town," Link said with nervousness. They were almost to the top, and he knew that this would be a tough journey.

"That is a great idea! Then I can help you climb some upside down parts!" The skull Kid exclaimed happily. "I can't wait! Oh, look! We're here!" Link reached back and pulled out his bow and some arrows. He broke a pot behind him to get some magic.

"Oh boy, Oh boy!" The Skull Kid was very excited. Link knocked an arrow, pulled it back, made it a light arrow, aimed, and looked around.

"I forgot that we have to step on the switches to show the gem." They stepped on the two on the left and on the right. The blocks moved, revealing the blood red crystal. Link aimed the arrow again, pulled pack, and fired. He felt himself falling down to a platform below him. The Skull Kid was standing up, staring over the edge into the blue afternoon sky.

"Man, this is so awesome!" he said, a little more nervously this time.

"Well, let's go. But remember, if you fall, you'll burn up in the sky," Link half joked, half whimpered. The Skull Kid gave a nervous laugh. "G- g- grab on, Link." The Skull kid began climbing, Link holding on to his ankle. Link could here skull Kid mumbling to himself, "Don't look down. Whatever you do, don't look down." Link began saying it himself, for a little bit of comfort. He didn't want to show it, but in truth he was scared to death of what they were going to do. As they climbed, all Link could think about, other than his fear of heights, was his masks and the rest of his items. He really wanted them back.

"Well, um, we're here, heh," The Skull kid mumbled, barely audible. They walked out and were standing on a ledge. The stone tongue of the mouth was above their heads now.

"Grab on to my shoulders," Link said. He hookshot to the tree and climbed up to it. Then he hookshot to the music house and stood in the horn.

"I wonder what it looks like inside," Skull Kid said to Link.

"I don't know, but we have to get back to Clock Town." Link replied. He then hookshot to the tree by the well. Holding on with his legs again, he hookshot to the tree above, close to where the octorocks used to be. Then the final tree, right next to the used to be river. He then climbed up and held on with his legs for a few seconds, wondering what to do now.

"Hey, Link, look right above us. See that little rock right above your head? Pull it and see if it is loose," The skull kid suggested. Link pulled at the rock with all his might.

"It won't budge," he told the Skull Kid.

"Good," the Skull Kid replied, "Now I can help. There are a lot of those rocks if you look closely out there." The skull Kid pointed up and farther out at the ceiling of land.

"Grab on," Skull Kid held out his ankle for Link, and Link grabbed on. Skull Kid went rock to rock, grabbing the ones that looked the most stuck. He moved in a motion that Link had seen back in Kokori Forest: moving like he was crossing monkey bars. The children in the Forest had always loved to play on the monkey bars. Apparently, so did Skull Kid, for he moved quickly and without much effort.

"Whoa!" The Skull Kid had grabbed a loose rock, but still had a hold on a tight one. "Now the rocks are getting looser. I should be more careful." They continued on, Link still holding tightly to the Skull Kid's ankle.

_We're out of the canyon! _Link thought. _We're going to make it! There's the observatory! There's clock Town!_

"Hey, Skull kid," Link said.

"Yeah, Link?" Skull Kid replied.

"Head over by the observatory, there's another tree over there."

"Okay."

They headed over to the tree. Skull Kid grabbed onto it, Link right after him. Something fell on Link's arm. He looked up and his eyes got wide.

"Uh, Skull Kid! The tree! It's coming loose! We need to hurry off!" Link fumbled in his pack to pull out his hookshot to latch on to the tree closest to the observatory. Just then, the tree fell, taking Link and the Skull Kid with it. Link closed his eyes. _This has to be the end! _He thought._ Please, somebody help!_ Suddenly, Link landed on something soft and he opened his eyes. The Skull Kid was next to him, hanging on for dear life to… Kaepora Gaebora the owl!

"Hoo! I thought you two were goners! What brings you two here?" The owl asked.

"We need to go to Clock Town, that's what brings us here. Could you fly us there?" Link asked hopefully.

"Hoo! Yes, of course! Where in Clock town?"

"To the tower. We need to enter it." Link answered.

Link looked over at the Skull Kid, who was beginning to relax. He looked at Link and Link gave him a thumbs up.

"Looks like we did fine," Link laughed joyfully.

"Heh, heh! Looks like we will make it, after all!" Skull Kid replied.

"Hoo! We are here! Now be careful! And have a safe trip! Hoo!"

"Thanks for the ride, Kaepora! Take care!" Link waved to the owl.

"Now Link, hoo! Don't go turning the world too often! Stay away from the stone Tower, hoo! Next time, I may not be there to help!"

"Okay. Thanks for the advice, Kaepora! Bye!" Link said.

"Farewell, you two, hoo! Remember to be cautious of your surroundings, hoo!" With that, the owl flew away and link and Skull Kid were left standing on the ledge right in front of the Clock Tower's bottom door.

"Well, shall we go?" The Skull Kid asked Link. Link nodded, and together the two stepped into the upside down room where the mask salesman used to be.

"Ah! Look Link! There's the portal we fell out of! We can access it now!" The skull Kid walked forward and jumped in. Link walked up, took a breath in, and jumped down into the darkness…


	4. Chapter 4: Return to the Black City

Chapter 4: Return to the Black City

Link landed on the stone surface and drew his sword. He looked around very warily, moving his head from side to side, searching for Tael. He spotted the beast about 50 feet away, staring up at the bridge that was now above him.

"Look, Link! There's the door!" Skull Kid pointed to a door down by where Tael was standing.

"Alright, but I don't want to alert Tael, I mean he, or maybe I should call him an 'it', could probably kill us if it wanted to," Link noted, a little scared now that he realized what he was after. He wanted to get all his weapons back. Surely, though, Tael would know what he was doing. Unless…

"Skull Kid I have an idea! You're faster than me, right?" Link asked quickly.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so, why?"

"If you could get Tael's attention, and run while it chases you, I could see if that door is the right door," Link replied. Skull Kid scratched his head and thought for a moment.

"Fine. I'll do it. But you'd better kill the thing when you get your items back!" Skull Kid exclaimed, giving Link an evil eye.

"Don't worry, if I get my items back, then I'll warp us out of here," Link assured the Skull Kid.

"Ok, go lure him away so I can search this place," Link said as he crouched and waited for the Skull Kid to jump down over the stone ledge. Link army crawled to the edge and watched as the Skull Kid slowly snuck up behind the Beast.

"Hey, Tael!" Skull kid shouted. "Come get me!" Tael's claws grew about half the size of Skull Kid and it let out a blood curdling screech. Skull Kid ran like mad, finally disappearing around a corner, Tael right on his heels. Link took this chance: He jumped off the ledge and dashed to the door. Before him was a large, steep, spiraling staircase. Link began climbing, and about ten minutes later, huffing and puffing, he reached the top. He was in a room with a giant throne on both the floor and the ceiling, and right in the middle of the room on the wall was a blood red gem.

"What! So they knew! This must be why they captured me! At some point, they wanted me to turn this place upside down!" Link was furious. He should've known this when he saw the table on the ceiling. That thought made him remember what he was looking for. He spotted a door on the other side of the room, and he rushed over and opened it. There were broken pieces of glass everywhere. And in the midst of the broken glass were… his items! Link gathered all of the masks and weapons and bottles up and stashed them in his pack. He picked up the last thing on the floor, the Fierce Deity's mask.

_I wonder if this works here._ Link thought. He put the mask on and felt a dark power take hold of him. Next thing he knew, he was the Fierce Deity! He ran to open the door that led outside when he realized that the room was still upside down. He ran back across the room and in doing so, slipped in something wet and fell to the floor, catching himself with his hands. His palms began to burn and sting, and quickly he stood up, stepped back, and examined the floor. The acid from the tub that used to be on the ceiling was now all over the floor here. Link ran back through the door he came in and took off the mask. He knocked a light arrow. He shot the gem and fell to the floor. He ran back through the door to the acid room and ran outside from there. He saw the Skull Kid, who was cornered by Tael. Tael reached out a clawed hand and grabbed the Skull Kid by the neck. Link knew that the scene looked familiar. He knocked a fire arrow and shot Tael's shirt, engulfing it in flames. Tael dropped Skull Kid and Link ran in for the kill. He slashed Tael, but the beast quickly turned around and knocked Link to the ground. Link felt the steel claws on his throat as he closed his eyes, waiting for death. Suddenly, the claw was pulled back. Link opened one eye to see Skull Kid on Tael's back, choking him.

"Ugh- Hurry Link! Do- agh- whatever you have to! I can't hold him much longer!" The Skull Kid shouted to Link. Link pulled out the Fierce Deity's mask and pushed it onto his face. He drew his curved, double bladed sword and pulled Skull Kid off of Tael. He then tapped Tael on the shoulder. Tael turned around and, with a shocked look on his face, muttered, "Huh?" Link hit him in the face with the hilt of his sword, sending Tael to the ground. He then put the Goron mask on and lifted Tael up by the neck, asking in a deep voice, "How do you like it?" He then took off the Goron mask and drew his gilded sword. Tael swung at him. Link blocked it with his shield. Link slashed Tael's hand, slicing it off. He then sliced the other hand off, and finally, in one last gory slash, Link slashed through the top of Tael's head all the way down to the stomach. Tael fell onto the ground without a sound.

"We did it!" Link shouted joyfully. He and the Skull Kid jumped around for about thirty seconds, and then Skull Kid stopped abruptly, staring behind Link.

"What are you-?" Link started to ask, as he whipped around. A white mist in the shape of Tael was standing there. It appeared to be Tael's spirit. Then, without warning, the spirit flew around Link and right into the Skull Kid's body. Skull Kid shook his head, looked down at his hands, and then back up at Link. His eyes were pure white and he grew to twice Link's size. He held his hand out, and a giant sword appeared there. After looking the sword over, Skull Kid began shuffling after Link. Link pulled out his ocarina, and then he realized that he couldn't leave without the Skull Kid. He had no choice but to fight back. He shot an arrow, which Skull Kid pulled out and threw aside. Link had an idea. He knocked a light arrow and shot. The spirit flew out and Skull Kid shrank down to normal size. Link shot the spirit and it disappeared with a scream. Link ran over to the Skull Kid, who was bleeding badly from the arrow wound in his stomach, and crouched down next to him.

"Come on, buddy, it'll be alright. Grab my hand." Link held out his hand and pulled the Skull Kid up carefully. He put Skull Kid's arm around his shoulders and pulled out his ocarina. He played the Song of Healing, although it had no effect. Link then played the Song of Soaring and warped himself and Skull Kid to the Stone Tower. Link laid Skull Kid on the ground and shot the Gem with a light arrow. He quickly rushed over and picked up Skull Kid before the place turned back so that Skull Kid wouldn't be further injured. Then, he warped him and Skull Kid to Clock Town. He ran to West Clock town and set the Skull Kid against the wall by the Trading Post door. He knew he had little time now. He ran in and bought a blue potion. He rushed outside to a closed-eyed Skull Kid and he pressed the bottle to skull Kid's lips. He tipped it back and saw Skull Kid's eyes open.

"Link?" He asked, "Is it over?"

"It's over, buddy, it's over," Link replied softly. The two walked to South clock town and into the clock tower. They began making their way back to the Kokori Forest, where they could finally live a normal life again.

THE END

(Of part 1)

A part 2 of this story will be out soon! I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews, and read the next story, too!


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